Lock-actuator for total-proof devices on computing-machines.



H. N. McKAY. LOCK ACTUATOR FOR TOTAL PROOF DEVICES 0N COMPUTING MACHINESV APPLICATION FILED MAY 31.1916.

Patentd Aug. 6, 1918.

INVENTOI I E9222 [W151] WITNES SES:

ATTORNEYQ To all w lio' m it may concern: I

7 UNITED srArrEs PATENT orrion.

" nnnny M s KAY, or O KLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR 'ro "WAHL COMPANY, orILMINGTON,'DELAWA E, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

LOCK-ACTUATOR FOR, TOTAL-PROOF DEVICES 01v coMrUTINwMAeHInEs.

Bel't known thatI, HENRY N. MCKAY, a citizen of the'llnited States,-residing at Oakland, in thefcounty of Alameda. and State of California,have invented new and useful Improvements in Lock-Actuators for'lotaLProof Devices on Computing-Machines, of which the following is aspecification. 1 l

This, invention relates to a lock acti'lator for total proofdevices oncomputing machines; this application being in the nature of a divisionof my co pending case, entitled Total proof device for addingmechaiiism, filed March 10, 1915, Serial No; 13,332.

The purpose of this device is to provide a mechanism for actuatinga'locking .device which is operable to lock certain parts of tl1e' -typewriter mechanism and Computing mechanism when an incorrect total istranscribed from the totalizer. e

At present, in key actuated computing machines which clear b'ackfto zeroby direct subtraction or complementary addition,it is'possible for anoperator, by misstakekto copyawrong total-on thie paper, even though thecorrect total be shown in the totalize'r and then toproceed with a newcomputation without noting the error. Any digits remaining in thetotalizer after such error, cause thenextcomputation to show a Wrongresult, .inthis manner creating adoubleer'ror. Many mistakes are thusmade s'incje accuracyof work depends upon the skill orcare of theoperator only. In otherwor ds, correctness'depends on a variable humanelement. 1 The object of the present inventionis to provide means forlocking'the typewriter mechanism or the attached computingmechanismagainst further operation when a total shown in a 'tot-alizer of thecomputing machine is not transcribed exactly as it is' shown, andparticularly to provide a lock actuator operable by or in conjunctionwith a totalizer for anism.

Further objects will hereinafter appear. The invention consists of theparts and Specification of Letters Patent. 7 anplic atidn fiied May ai,1916." seriainbl oassa 1 operating the lockinginechthe combination. andconstruction of parts as hereinafter more fully described and -Paten tedjA ug. 6,191

claimed, havingreferen'ce to'the accompany,

ing ]-drawings, in 'whichei a H Figure 11 1s a front elevation of'a fragment ofa typewriting computing machine with the inventionapplied, andshowing a totalizer attached to the carriage.

Fig. '2is a plan view. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the setting levers.Y

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of the locking dog and its immediatelyrelated gear wheel.

Fig. 5 is an'enlarged side view of the dog and the transmission gears. v

Fig. 6 is a detail face'and sectional view of thegears. i V V The lockactuator illustrated in Fig. 5 is in this'instance provided for thepurpose of cooperating with a" stationary detent 12 forthe purpose oflocking the carriage between spaces, in which-"position the numeral keysare not operable. This locking of the carriage takesfplac'e when a totalshown in the totalize'r on the computing machine 'is not transcribedexactly as it is shown: The lock actuator is however, capablefofcobperation with a great variety of locking and signaling mechanismsshown in my copending-application. For instance, it is possible whentotal-shownin thetotalizer of 'a computingmachine is not transcribedexactly as f shown, to lock the carriage against movement as illustratedin the present application. Again, it is possible to lock 'boththeflnumeral and letter keys; furthermore, to lock the totalizeractuating mech-' anism 'and'also'to cause visible or audible signals tobe operated, or to operate a comthe computing mechanism or totalizer 8.

These notches have fixed positions ,withreto the zeros of the coactingnumeral ed thereon, to pass freely'across the detent 12 withoutstoppingor locking the carriage. If a total is incorr'ectly described,it can easilybe'seen that, one ormore digits will remain in thenumera'lwheel s, as thesehave not been completely returned to the zeroposition. It'therefore also follows that all thedeep notches 7 will notbe in alinement and'that as the carriage and totalizer move across thedetent 12, an interference or stop will be made when the shallow teethof an accumulating gear 7 which has not been returned to properpositiomcomes into'engagement or alinement with the detent 12. Thecarriage and totalizer withconnected mechanism will therefore be lockedandr the operator will'necessarily have to make the necessarycorrectionsto permitjthe free passage ofthe carriage andconnectedtotalizer. From the foregoing; description, it' can be seenthat the lock actuator is produced by forming one or more deep notchesin the periphery of each of: the accumulating gears 7carried bythetotalizer, andas these notches have fixed-positions with relation to thezeroeson the numeral wheels, it can readily be seen that it will-beimpossible for the carriage andtotalizer to pass the detent 12 beforethe zero position of all thevnumeral wheelsand an alinement of deepnotches-is secured.

One must naturally assume that the average work performed by an operatoris correctand that wrong transcriptions of'tota-ls are moreorlessinf-requent; The normal function of the notches; 7 is therefore topass over the detent. 12- and not to engage with same. 7 the pass-overnotches; Theparticular mechanismemployedin the present instance forcooperation in connection with the lock actuator willb'e as follows:

In Fig.1, 2-represents atypewriter digit key lever, the in dotted-lines,and of which levers the usual complement-isprovided but not here shown.

The key lever-2 is connected-by a link l to and for operating amechanism, indicated generally; at 5 and which has for its primefunctionthe rotation ofa master pinion 6;"

each digit key b einge'fl'ectivethrough said mechanism to turn thepinion a prededetent indicated at 12 and Will- They may therefore betermed key button 3 -being indicated termined degree for the rotation oftrans mission gears f a computing device indicated generally at 8. Thecomputer 8- is here' shown as-adjustably' attached:to aportion 9 of'atypewriting machine carriage.

Operation of any of the digit keys 2 serves to actuate the transmittingmechanism 5 and a gear 7in nieshwiththe master wheel 6, so that thecorresponding value will be indicated at the computer by its numeralwheels 10. I

Assuming that a column has been'written and totalized by the machine andthe operator wishes-totranscribe the total and at the same time clearthe computer, then, in the type of machine'he're shown, he, or-slie',will depress a shift or'"subtract*lever"11 of the mechanism '5 and whichsimply changes" the direction of" rotation of the" master "wheel 6.Thereup'on', as" the digit keys are depressed the master" wheel resetsthe numeral wheels 10 to zer'o, provided the'proper keys are struck.

It is to check up and make the correctkey operation compulsory duringtranscription oftotalsth'at Ihave devisedm'y present invention. g V

V The device consistjsfirst, of ablockirig'do'g 12 located in positionso asto project into the normal to'otlinotches of any ofthe transmission gear wheels 7 of the computing totalizer 8," the object of whichdog istoprevent'the passage-across it of any't'otalizer notch of lessthan'agivencapacity; second; of totalizer transmission geauwheels so cutthat certain notches 7 "shallbe wide and deep enough to permit'passa'geo-ftheblb'ck ing dog, and all other notches shallfbe too smallto permitits passaggthe object of which arrangement 7 is to allow the blockingdog to pass only when certainpredetermined' numerals ar'e'shown in thenumber wheels of the totalizer; and'third, of'a'mea'ns" to controlthe'blocking dog, so as to'releaseit' to an operative position andwithdraw it to an inoperative positiomi-as'required.

The blocking dog12- is mounted on a pivot'13, andprovided with a spring'14-, the tendencyof' which is to keep; the djogiextendediin'operativeposit-ion. The blocking dog is located in a sequent'positionwithreference to the master or actu'ator 'wheel 6 of the adding orsubtracting mechanism, so

that it mustenter a given gear wheel? or typewriter will be arrestedbefore it has moved a full space, thus stopping the carriage between twonormal points of'rest', and causing the numeral keys 'ottiie typewriterto be locked against operation through the regular mechanism providedfor that purpose in such machines.

The blocking dog 12 is connected with the actuating mechanism 5 of theadding or subtracting attachment or mechanism by means of an arm 15 anda cam 16, in such a manner as to cause the dog, when in operativeposition, to be depressed by each stroke of a numeral key, when addingor subtracting, a suflicient distance to disengage the dog completelyfrom the totalizer gears, and in such a manner also as to cause the dogto be released to resume its operative position after the master wheelof the actuator has ceased to move, and before the typewriter carriageis released by the typewriter escapement to move the next space or pointof rest. The object of this disengagement is to prevent the presence ofthe dog in any gear wheel from obstructing the normal turning of thegear.

The blocking dog is beveled at 12, Fig. 6, in such a manner as to beself-depressing when the totalizer passes or is'passed in returning thetypewriter carriage, and so permit passage without obstructionregardless of the position of the gear wheel notches.

The specially cut totalizer gear wheels? which engage with the masterwheel 6 of the adding mechanism and with the blocking dog 12, are cut inthe following manner for all machines with adding and subtractingmechanism which clear or bring the totalizer 8 back to zero, when atotal is copied, by direct subtraction.

(a) All notches 7 in the transmission gear wheels 7 which shall be inline with the blocking dog 12 at the sametime that any zero is shown inthe'corresponding number wheels 10 of the totalizer 8 are cut deeper orwider than the'usual or standard tooth notches of the gears,to asufiicient extent to permit the passage of the dog, at all times.

(b) All notches which shall with the blocking dog 12 at the sametimethat any figure nine is shown in the corresponding number wheels of thetotalizer are cut obliquely or inclined on the face 7 so as to be oftheir original depth and width on the side first reached by or reachingthe blocking dog, Fig. 6; the notches increasing in depth or width orboth until, on the opposite side of the gear wheel,,they reach thecapacity of the full sized escapement, or zero notches described above.

For adding typewriters that clear the totalizer in copying a total bymeans of the process of complementary addition or indirect subtraction,the totalizer gear wheels which engage the master wheel. and theblocking dog are specially cut or notched as follows, to-wit:

(c) All notches which shall be in line he in line with the blocking dogat the same time that any figure nine is shown. in the correspondingnumber wheels of the totalizer are cut deep or wide enough to permitfree passage of the dog, at all times.

(d) All notches which shall be in line with the blocking dog at the sametime that any zero is shown in the corresponding number wheels of thetotalizer are cut obliquely or inclined in the manner described under(6) above, with the exception of the last gear Wheel reached by orreachingthe actuator wheel, in which last wheel any notches which shallbe in line with the dog when a zero is shown in the correspond ingnumber wheel are cut to permit free passage of the dog at all times.

In either type of machine, when any totalizer gear wheel 7 is a doublegear, as in Fig. 5, having a left-hand gear wheel to cocupy a decimalpoint or comma space and act as a carry-over gear, all notches 7 b inthe carry-over gear, which occupies the decimal point or comma space arecut to a capacity to permit the free passage of the blocking dog at alltimes, since no arrest of the carriage is desired at such points.

The control mechanism for rendering the blocking dog inoperative isshown as consisting of a plunger rod 17 mounted on the frame of thetypewriter or actuator mechanism, beveled at 18 on the end nearest thedog and having a pin 19 at the oppositeend engaging a slotted cam lever20, which is equipped with a spring 21 tending to maintain said lever atrest position. The plunger rod is so located, and the slot in the cam soconstructed, that when the cam lever, here called the total proof leveris at rest or upper position, the beveled end of the rod is engaged withthe blocking dog 12, retaining it in a depressed, inoperative position,Fig. 41. When the total proof or cam lever is depressed, it withdrawsthe end 18 of the plunger rod from engagement with the blocking dog,permitting the dog to be tipped up by its spring to its opera- .tiveposition.

The total proof lever is superimposed on the regular subtract lever llofthe machine when there is one, and is designed to be caught whendepressed, under the latch 11' of the subtract lever or under alatch ofits oWn, until subsequently released.

The operation of the above described de vice on an adding andsubtracting typewriter is as follows:

When an addition has been completed and it is desired to copy the totalshown in-the totalizer, the operator depresses the total proof lever 20,which carries down the subtract lever 11 of the machine, andsimultaneously releases into operative position the blocking dog 12,which then extends into position to engage with the totalizer gear wheeltooth notches. The, operator then tabulates, or moves the typewritercarriage forward until the actuator wheel is in the first space in thetotalizer, the number wheel of which is occupiedby a muneral other thanzero. The blockingdog 12 per mits this forward movement as far as thefirst space so occupied, because the gear notches 7' inline with it inany precedent spaces occupied by zeros are cut to permit its freepassage. When the actuator wheel 6 comes to rest in the first wheeloccupied by a numeral other than zero, the dog'lZ is in a sequentposition in the previous wheel passed, and is less than a full spacefrom the actuator wheel.

The operator then strikes the vmunera-l.key 2 of the typewriter,corresponding to the initial figure of the total to be copied. If thecorrect key is struck, the actuator wheel, turning in thereverse orsubtract direction, subtracts the figure shown in that number wheel 10of the totalizer, bringing the number wheel back exactly to zero, andtherefore bringing a zero notch 7 or large capac notch, opposite theblocking dog,- and as the carriage is released to move forward'to itsnextoperating space there is no obstruction of its movement by the dog.lfthe wrong typewriter numeral key is struck-,be it greater or less thanthe figure shownpreviously in the corresponding numeral wheel of thetotalizer, the number wheel will not be brought to zero and one of-thesmall. capacity notches will be in line with the blocking dog.\Therefore as the carriage ofthe typewriter moves forward toward itsnext operating space, the entry of the blocking dog into the gear wheeljust operated is impossible because of the small notch, the dog catcheson and blocks the passage of the gear 7 ,the carriage is arrestedbetween operating spaces, and the numeral keys of the typewriter arerendered inoperable, by the regular locking system of the typewriteradding machine. The operator isinformed of the error on attempting todepress the next numeral key in the effect to complete the transcriptionof the total. It is then necessary to return the carriage to theprevious space in which the error was made, and correct the error, andwhen a Zero is correctly shown in that number wheel the transcriptionmay be continued.

When the numeral key struck in error is greater than the figure shown inthe corresponding number wheel, the result is an over-subtraction, inwhich case all preceding number wheels of the totalizer are occupied IWhen this occurs the blocking dog, (which was depressed during themovement of the actuator wheel as previously described) when it rises,enters the obliquely cut notches 7 which are in line with the by nines.

dog whenever a nine is shown in a number wheel, and blocks against thesmall, capacity notchinthe wheeljust misoperated in. The oblique cuttingof these nine notches leaves the side of the notch first reaching orreache d by the blocking dog of a size small enough to obstruct thepassage of the dog when a nine is left in a number wheel by error,beveled so that the dog may be raised to engage the wheel adjacent tothe higher point of bevel.

If the operator neglects to release the total proof lever and withitthesubtract lever, before proceeding with the next addition, thefirstnumeral key struck other than zero, will bring a numcralinto the numberwheel corresponding and a small capacity notch 7 in line with theblocking dog 12, thereby causing the'carriage to be arrested betweenoperating spaces, and so lock the numeral keys of the typewriter againstfurther operation until the above mentioned levers are restored to thecorrect position for addition.

Vhen the typewriter adding machine on which this device is used is amachinewhich clears or brings the totalizer back to zero by the processknown as complementary addi tion, the operation of the device is similarin principle to the above, save that since this method of clearing,correctly performed, requires that all number wheels of the total izer:be brought to nines except the last, which'must be brought to ten, thusclearing the preceding nines to-Zeroand so clearing the totalizer, the'notches are so arranged that when this order is exactly followed thereis no obstruction and no locl ,but that when an error is made and thisorder is not followed, there shall be an arrest of the carriage andconsequent lock similar totha-t described above, notifying the operatorof the mistake. Since in these machines when too smalla numeral isstruck, or too large a complement added in any wheel, all previousnumber wheels are brought to zeros in place of nines, the obliquely cutnotches are therefore located to come in line with the lock dog whenzeros are shown in the number-,w.hcels,for the same purpose, and withthe same general result as described above for oblique notches.

The same arrest of carriage, locking, and consequent notification oferror are produced in this type of machine when it is neglected toreturn the total proof lever to the correct position for addition as aredescribed above for the other type of machine, and in the same generalmanner. 7

A third advantage of the device is that it prevents tabulating or movingthe typewriter carriage too far forward into a total izer. when atotalis to be copied, in'which event the transcription would commence at awrong point. ,7 f v This result is produced because the blocking dogcannot pass any gear wheel, the

number wheel of which is occupied by a figure other than zero. Theefiort to make it do so will cause the arrest of carriage looking ofkeys, and consequent notification of error described above.

This invention is adapted to operate on, or be used with any typewriteradding machine and any typewriter adding and subtracting machine whichoperates by means of a stationary actuating mechanism attached to orlocated on the frame of the ma-- chine, and a moving totalizer attachedto or connected with the carriage of the machine; or on anyabove-mentioned machine which operates by means of a stationarytotalizer attached to or built on the frame of the machine, and a movingactuating mechanism attached to or connected with the carriage of themachine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In a totalizer, the combination with a plurality ofnumber wheels, of a plurality of carrying gears adapted to drive saidnumber wheels, a gear adapted to drive any of said carrying gears and adeep notch between certain of the teeth of said carrying gears, saidnotch having a greater depth than the remaining interdental notches andbeing so shaped as to not interfere with the driving of said numberwheels by said carrying gears.

12. In a totalizer, the combination with a plurality of number wheels,of a plurality of carrying gears adapted to drive said number wheels, agear adapted to drive any of said carrying gears, and a plurality ofdeep notches between certain of the teeth of said carrying gears, saidnotches having a greater depth than the remaining interdental notchesand being so shaped as to not interfere with the driving of said numberwheels by said carrying gears.

3. In a totalizer, the combination with a plurality of number wheels, ofa plurality of carrying gears adapted to drive said number wheels, agear adapted to drive any of said carrying gears, and a deep notchbetween certain of the teeth of each of said carrying gears, said notchhaving a greater depth than the remaining interdental spaces and beingshaped so as to not interfere with the driving of said number wheels bysaid carrying gears, said notch being further so positioned that thenotches on all the carrying gears will form an alinement when the numberwheels bear certain predetermined relations to each other.

4. In a totalizer the crimbination with a plurality of number wheels, ofa plurality of carrying gears adapted to drive said number wheels, agear adapted to drive any of said carrying gears, and a deep notchbetween certain of the teeth of each of said carrying gears, said notchhaving a greater depth than the remaining interdental spaces and beinshaped so as to not interfere with the drivlng of said number wheels bysaid carrying gears, said notches being further so positioned as to forman alinement whenever the number wheels stand at zero.

5. In a totalizer, the combination of a numeral wheel, a computing gearwheel adapted to drive said numeral wheel by means of gear teeth, saidcomputing wheel having certain of the spaces between its teeth deeperthan the remaining spaces, said deep spaces being so located as tooccupy a certain predetermined relation with the position of said numberwheel, whereby the same gear may be used both for driving said numberwheel and determining when said number wheel stands at zero.

6. In a totalizer, the combination of a number wheel, a computing gearwheel adapted to drive said number wheel, a deep notch between certainof the teeth of said computing wheel, said deep notch being sopositioned as not to interfere with the normal driving of said numeralwheel by said computing gear, and also to keep a certain position whensaid numeral wheel stands at zero, whereby the same gear may be usedboth for driving said numeral wheel and determining the zero positionthereof.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing wltnesses.

JOHN H. HERRING, W. W. HEALEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. r

